Italian coastguard: 3,000 refugees rescued in Mediterranean Sea in a single day

SHAFAQNA – About 3,000 people have been saved in the Mediterranean Sea in a single day while trying to make the journey from northern Africa to Europe, according to the Italian coastguard.

They were picked up in more than 20 separate rescue operations on Saturday, involving the Italian coastguard and navy, the EU’s EUNAVFOR mission in the Mediterranean, European Union border agency Frontex, NGOs, and merchant ships.

The coastguard gave no details of the nationalities of those rescued.

According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), so far this year 43,490 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe by sea as of April 26.

More than 1,000 have died or are missing.

Earlier this month, Angelino Alfano, Italian foreign minister, said his country will host an international conference on migration.

“The stabilisation of Libya has a tremendous value for us [Italy]: it means national security, the end of human trafficking, and a reduction of the migration flow,” Alfano was cited as saying in the Italian Ansa news agency.